Automobile-body heater



Dec. 31, 1940. E. c. BooTH 2,227,386

` AUTOMOBILE-BODY HEATER Filed March 25, 1940 Cil Patented Dec. 3l, 1940 UNITED STATES AUTOMOBILE -BODY HEATER Earl C. Booth, Columbus, Ind., assigner to Noblitt- Sparks Industries, Inc., Columbus, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application lll'arcli 25 1940, Serial No. 325,623

6 Claims.

My invention relates to automobile-body heaters of the circulating fluid type and has for its object the pro-vision of means facilitating the control of the heated .air discharged from such heater. More specifically, it is my object to provide a heater having two air-outlets directed in different directions with means for successively opening or successively closing such outlets by the operation of a single control member which may be remote from the heater.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a heater which is preferably adapted for mounting upon the dash of the automobile in a central location and which has a pair of air-outlet openings disposed in opposite side walls. Associated with each of such outlets I provide a pivoted closure connected by .a link to a rotating member mounted on a horizontal axis between the two outlet openings. The positions of the rotating member and of the points at which the links are connected thereto are so selected that when the rotating member is rotated to move vone of the closures from closed to open position the position of the other closure will be substantially unchanged. To rotate the rotating member, and thereby control the respective positions of the shutters, I employ a remote control device, preferably in the form of a Bowden wire connected eccentrically to the rotating member.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an automobile-body heater equipped with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the heater shown in Fig. 1 with portions of the heater-casing broken away; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a fragmental view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the outlet closures in a different condition of adjustment; and Fig. 5 is a small-scale elevation illustrating the disposition of the heater within the automobile body.

The heater shown in the drawing comprises a casing II) containing a core II through which hot water from the engine cooling system circulates, a fan I2 for causing air-flow through such core, and an electric motor I3 for driving such fan. As shown, the casing I0 has a semi-circularly curved lower wall provided with two main outlet openings I4 and I5. The vertical side walls of the heater-casing are shown as provided with auxiliary air-outlet openings IB adapted for connection to conduits I1 extending to defroster nozzles I8 located adjacent the windshield |9 of the automobile, as will be clear from Fig. 5.

As shown, the heater-casing I 0 has an airinlet in its front wall, such inlet being covered with a suitable grille 2|, the fan I2 is arranged in rear of the core to draw air therethrough, and the outlet openings I4, I5, and I 6 are located near the rear of the casing substantially in the (Cl. gtie-E) plane of the fan I2. `While this specic arrangement is preferred, it is not essential.

The main air-outlet openings I4 and I5 are provided respectively with pivoted closures 25 and 2B. As shown, the closures 25 and 26 are pivotally mounted on pivots 21 in the casing IU adjacent the upper ends of the openings with which they are respectively associated; and the closures are so shaped that, when closed, they conform to the shape of the casing.

For the purpose of operating the closures, there is pivotally mounted on the rear wall of the casing and between the openings I4 and I5 an operating member 3D, conveniently in the form of a disk. A link 3| having one end connected to the closure 25 below the pivotal axis thereof and the other end connected to an eccentric point on the disk 3U, serves to interconnect the closure 25 with the disk. A second link 32, having one end connected to the closure 26 below its pivotal .axis and the other end connected to an eccentric point on the disk 3|] connects the closure 26 to the disk. In the specific arrangement shown, the inner end of the link 3| is curved upwardly and connected to the disk 3U at a point substantially directly below the disk-axis when the closure 25 is closed;` while the inner end of the link 32 is curved downwardly and connected tothe disk 30 at a point spaced in a clockwise direction from the point at which the link 3| is connected to the disk.

For the purpose of rotating the disk 3) to control the closures 25 vand 25, I prefer to employ a Bowden wire 34 which, as shown, is connected to an eccentric point on the disk 3|] and which extends through the customary sheath 35 to a control member 3B desirably located on the instrument board 31 of the automobile. The end of the sheath 35 is `anchored to the heater casing by a suitable clamp 3B disposed close to the disk 30.

An important feature of my invention resides in the arrangement of the links 3| and 32 and oi the points at which they are connected to the disk 30. In the particular arrangement illustrated, the disk 3d is arranged to be rotated through an angle of about by the operation oi the Bowden wire, and the points at which the two links are connected to the disk are spaced apart a distance of about 60 or approximately half the angle through which the disk 30 is rotatable. With both closures 25 and 26 closed, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 3, the disk 30 is at the counterclockwise limit of its rotation, and the pivotal connection between the disk and the link 3| is substantially directly below the diskaxis. If the Bowden wire isoperated to produce a disk-rotation of about 60 in extent in a clockwise direction, the parts will assume the respective positions illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. In that movementl of the disk, the inner end of the link 3| will be carried sufliciently far to the left to swing the closure to an open position; but the inner end of the link 32 will move in a generally vertical direction, with the result that the position of the closure 2S will have undergone no substantial change. In other words, during the stated movement of the disk 30, the inner end of the link 3| moves generally parallel to that link, while the inner end of the link 32 moves generally perpendicularly to that link. If the disk 3|) is now rotated through an additional angle of about 60, the inner end of the link 32 will be moved to the right, generally parallel to the link 32, to open the closure 26; but, since the inner end of the link 3| moves generally vertically, or generally perpendicularly to the link 3|, the closure 25 will remain open. The position of the parts when the disk has reached the clockwise limit of its rotation is shown in Fig. 4, where both closures 25 and 25 are fully open. If the Bowden wire 34 is now operated in reverse direction to cause counterclockwise rotation of the disk 30, the sequence of operations just described is reversed, the closure 26 being closed during the first half of diskrotation and the closure 25 being closed during the second half of such rotation.

The inner ends of the links 3| and 32 are curved as illustrated to prevent them from coming into contact with each other as the disk is rotated and thereby to prevent their interfering with disk rotation. Movement of the Bowden Wire in its sheath will ordinarily be accompanied by surlicient friction to hold the disk in any desired position of adjustment.

As will be clear from Fig. 5, I contemplate that the heater will be mounted on the dash of the automobile in'an approximately central location so that the outlet opening I4 will be directed toward the feet of the driver and the opening I5 toward the feet of a iront-seat passenger. If the Bowden-wire control member 36 is in the normal position illustrated in Fig. 2, the disk 30 will be at the counterclockwise limit of its rotation and both closures 25 and 26 will be closed. Under these circumstances, all air discharged from the casing I0 will pass through the conduits to the defroster nozzles. If the driver is alone in the car and desires that the car-body be heated, he will draw out the control member 36 half-way to rotate the disk 30 to the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 3, thus opening the closure 25 while leaving the closure 26 closed. Should there be a frontseat passenger, the driver will draw out the control member 3B to the limit of its movement, thus causing opening of both closures as illustrated in Fig, 4.

Since movement of the disk 31| from the fullline position to the dotted-line position of Fig. 3 will entail some, although slight, movement of the closure 26, irst inwardly and then outwardly, I prefer to form that closure so that it can swing inwardly a slight distance from a position flush with the wall of the casing in order that it may be flush with such wall when the disk 3G is in its normal position.

It will be noted that in the drawing the axis of the disk 30 is spaced from the center-line of the casing. This disposition of the disk is not essential, and is employed merely to simplify manufacture by making it possible for the two links 3| and 32 to be the same.

I claim as my invention:

l. In an automobile-body heater having a casing provided with two air-outlet openings in opposite walls, pivotally mounted closures associated respectively with said openings and each movable between open and closed positions, a closure-operating member mounted between said outlet openings and rotatable from a normal position to an extreme position through a fraction of a revolution about its aXis of pivotal mounting, and a link connecting each of said closures with an eccentric point on said closure-operating member, the point at which one of said links is connected to said closure-operating member being so disposed as to move generally parallel to the link during the first half of movement of said closureoperating member from normal to extreme position and generally perpendicular to the link during the last half of such movement of the operating member, and the point at which the other of' said links is connected to said closure-operating member being so disposed that it moves generally perpendicular to such link during the first half of the stated movement of ythe closure-operating -rriember and generally parallel to such link during the last half of such movement.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 with the addition of a control device remote from said heater and operatively connected to said closureoperating member to move it selectively to its normal position, its eXtreme position, or an intermediate position,

3. The invention set forth in claim 1 with the addition of a Bowden wire connected at an eccentric point to said closure-operating member, extending to a point remote from the heater, and operative to move said closure-operating member selectively to its normal position, its extreme position, or an intermediate position.

4. In an automobile-body heater having a casing provided with two air-outlet openings in opposite walls, pivotally mounted closures associated respectively with said openings and each movable between open and closed positions, a closure-operating member mounted between said outlet openings and rotatable from a normal position to an extreme position through a fraction of a revolution about its axis of pivotal mounting, and a link connecting each of said closures with an eccentric point on said closure-operating member, the points at which such links are connected to said closure-operating member being so disposed that as each movesgenerally parallel to its associated link when the closure-operating member is swung about its axis the other will move generally perependicular to its associated tions, and means including a single control member remote from the heater and operatively connected to both said closures for successively opening them and successively closing them.

EARL C. BOOTH. 

